The Illness and the Lawyer
by RishyRish64
Summary: Alicia catches the flu and Peter offers to take care of her. Set in season 4. Please note: This is my first EVER Good Wife fanfiction and I've only just recently gotten into the show so forgive me if its horrible.
1. Chapter 1

_Ok so this is my first EVER Good Wife fanfiction so please bare with me. I only recently started watching the show and am currently in the beginning of season four so please BE NICE._

_Thank you in advance. _

**_Symptoms_**

"Mom..." Zac called, shaking his mother's shoulder for the third time in twenty minutes. "Mom." This time his voice was a little harsher, the same tone of voice she would use on him if he were to sleep in. "Mom?" He called again, shaking her a little harder. "Mom!" He called louder. Grace entered her parent's bedroom, shrugging her bag over her shoulder as she did so.

"She got in late last night, I'm sure we can get ourselves to school this time. We've done it before." She reminded her big brother, looking at her watch. "We've gotta go otherwise we'll be late." She walked over to her sleeping mother and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you later, mom." Tugging at Zac's arm, she went to walk out. Before she did, however, Zac turned back around, being quick to grab Alicia's phone off of the bedside table. "Zac!" Grace exclaimed sharply. "Mom hates it when you go through her phone..." Curiosity got the better of the youngest Florrick however as she looked over her brother's shoulder. "What are you doing?" She asked. Zac was quick to get out of the Messenger app and replace the phone on the bedside table.

"I just sent a text to Dad. No harm, right?" He asked, slowly following his sister out of Alicia's bedroom and out the front door towards school. "What time did she get in? You said it was late." He asked, pressing the button on the elevator. Grace shrugged her shoulders as the doors opened.

"I dunno, about ten or eleven. I was texting Sam when I heard her come in." She confessed, only just realizing that she let the name of her sort of boyfriend slip. Zac's head snapped up at the name.

"Sam who?" He asked as they stepped onto the sidewalk to head towards their schools.

"None of your business," She was relieved to see her best friend Rebecca walking towards her. "Later, loser." She called, running to catch up to her.

"Be home by seven! You know how much mom freaks when you're not!" He hollered, walking in the opposite direction towards his high school.

TGWTGWTGW

It was the feeling of extreme heat running through her body wokr her. With a heavy groan, Alicia opened her eyes and attempted to lift her throbbing head off of her pillow.

"Eugh..." She coughed, throwing the blankets back on her bed. Almost trudging, she made her way towards the bathroom, opting to just splash some cold water on her face, since she knew that she was more than likely late for work. As she slowly made her way back towards the bedroom, a loud knock at the front door made her jump.

"Alicia?" A voice called. It was Kalinda, her always faithful and sometimes a little too nosy PI. "Alicia are you ok?" She called. Alicia sighed heavily and walked slowly towards the front door, hearing her own footfalls on the carpet floor echo in her head. As she opened the door, she immediately found herself cringing at her reflection in Kalinda's sunglasses.

"What time is it?" She asked, running a weary hand over her face and stepping to the side to allow Kalinda to enter the house.

"A little after ten... I got worried when you didn't answer the phone... Are you OK?" She asked again, leading her bewildered employer to the living room couch. Alicia coughed, confirming her suspicion. "Lay still." She instructed, putting the back of her hand on Alicia's forehead.

"Kalinda I'm not a child..." She protested the threat only mild. As the hand was removed, Alicia coughed again, this time holding her ribs with one hand and covering her mouth with the other.

"While you may not be a child, you _are_ sick. And because of this, you are not to be alone until you are better." She advised, already fishing her phone out of her jacket pocket. A shaking hand on hers made her still her actions.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me..." To prove a point, she got to her feet. However her shaky hands were nothing in comparison to her shaky legs. As soon as her back was straight, she felt her knees begin to buckle and she began to fall, saved from a humiliation only by Kalinda and her quick thinking.

"Bull." She put an arm around Alicia and led her back towards the bedroom, fluffing the pillows and fixing the blankets before allowing her to lie back down. "I want you to stay here while I get Peter on the phone." Before she could object, Kalinda was out of the room with her phone to her ear.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi there, TGW fans! _

_Very sorry for the slow update had a bit of a block. I was made aware that in season 4 Kalinda and Alicia were not friendly however in this it's slightly AU so it's been fixed._

_Enjoy ladies and gentlemen!_

"Peter Florrick." Peter answered, not looking at the caller ID on his screen. This was the first time in his day that he was able to even catch his breath so to say that he was antsy was an understatement.

"Peter? It's Kalinda," Kalinda announced softly, peering into the slightly opened bedroom door at her napping 'patient.' Almost as soon as she had closed the door, Alicia was fast asleep again, her breathing slightly raspy and a shiver coursing through her body.

"Kalinda... What is it?" Peter asked, exiting the conference room and looking at his watch. "If it's about Alicia needing me to get the kids from school-" Kalinda cut him off.

"Peter when was the last time Alicia got sick worse than a sniffle?" She asked, getting straight to the point. Peter found himself going back through his mental calendar.

"Uh... When Grace was about seven. The worst she had was a blocked nose and a bit of a cough but... She never complained about it. Why?" He asked, sticking his head into Eli's office. "Eli?" He called, his boss looking up from his computer screen. "Alicia is unwell and I need to get home to her. Is that..." Eli waved his hand without looking away from the screen, giving him a silent approval. "Thank you." He closed the door, making a beeline for the elevator. "You still there?" He asked, pressing the button a few times.

"Yeah, I am..." She reassured, once again looking in the bedroom at Alicia. She was now laying on her back, her head to the side and a hand above her head. Even from where she was standing, she could hear a slight wheeze in her friend's breathing and a rattle. "Listen... I can hear a rattle and wheeze when she's breathing in and out does that mean a chest infection?" She asked, going into the bathroom and finding a washcloth. Peter sighed heavily.

"It could mean a lot of things... Look I'm on my way home now but I'm gonna stop at the pharmacy. Do you need anything?" He asked, making it to the parking lot. Kalinda nodded, knowing that Peter couldn't see the gesture.

"No I should be fine... I think you'll need some cold and flu capsules because I'm sure that this bug isn't going away without some medicinal help."

TGWTGWTGW

A knock on the door drew Kalinda away from Alicia, whom just had a cool wash cloth placed on her forehead. Thankful that she had removed her shoes, Kalinda crossed the floor between the bedroom and the front door, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding as Peter stepped over the threshold.

"I didn't know who else to call, thank you for coming." She apologized, taking the bag from Peter and leading him towards the bedroom.

"It's alright. If you didn't call me I'm sure one of the kids would have called her mom." He smiled slightly, placing his briefcase in the study before joining Kalinda at the closed bedroom door. "How sick is she, Kalinda? And what are you doing here? I thought you and Alicia were only on speaking terms for work." He asked his hand already on the doorhandle.

"Sick enough to not go into work and miss all of our phone calls... Peter I don't think I've seen her like this." She admitted, following Peter into the darkened room as he opened the door and walked almost on their tiptoes towards the sleeping lawyer. "And Diane made me come here. If it wasn't me it was going to be Cary."

"The worst I've seen her is when she was pregnant with Grace and when she got a bad case of the flu... I honestly have no idea what to expect here." He admitted, softly placing the back of his hand on Alicia's cheek. "She's warm to the touch." Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he hit speed-dial four and put the phone to his ear. "Sometimes you have to bite the bullet though and resolve issues." He pointed out, waiting for the phone to be picked up and feeling his own words hit him in the heart.

"Who are you calling now, reinforcements?" Kalinda asked, removing the now warm washcloth and making a quick beeline to the bathroom.

"The only person that Alicia will listen to when she's sick."

_Anyone guess who he's callin?_


	3. Chapter 3

As Peter dipped the now warm washcloth in the bowl of cool water, a knock on the front door made him jump until he remembered who he had called.

"I'll be right back, Alicia." He reassured, resting his hand on her forehead. Alicia groaned a little and nuzzled her head into the pillow. Peter crossed the living room and looked through the spy-hole, relieved to see his mother in law Veronica standing at the door, a full shopping bag in her hand. "Thanks for this, Veronica." He apologized, kissing her on either cheek before Veronica set the bag on the counter.

"You know I would help... where is my patient?" She asked, unloading fresh fruit, juice, cough syrup and a thermos resting on the counter.

"She's fast asleep in the bedroom and is quite groggy." He explained, leading her towards the ajar bedroom door.

"Alicia was always like that when she was sick or didn't have enough sleep. Something she picked up from her father, of all things." Veronica grimaced, crossing the carpeted bedroom floor and sitting beside her daughter. "Alicia?" She whispered, resting a hand on her forehead. "Honey?"

Alicia turned her face into her pillow and groaned. "Not now..." she moaned, fighting every urge to shove her other pillow over her head. Peter looked at Veronica with a look of confusion.

"Come on, Leesh..." Veronica whispered, keeping her hand on her forehead. "I need you to take some medicine." She instructed.

"No..." the Lawyer almost growled. She cracked one eye open, not entirely focusing on the two people in front of her. "I thought Kalinda was here..." She almost whispered, her throat feeling like razor blades as she tried to sit up.

"She was but Diane called her back," Peter explained, sitting on the other side of his wife, his hand on her lower back as she shuffled her body up the pillows. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Like I got hit by every bus and car downtown and my head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton wool, other than that I'm just grand." She explained, a cough cutting her off. "I don't ever get sick so I don't know who I got this from." She almost pouted, screwing her nose up at the bottle of medicine that Veronica set on the bedside table.

"You can figure that out later." Peter reassured, resting a hand behind her shoulders. He tried to keep the concern out of his features at the heat that was radiating off of his wife but Veronica noticed it. _That's where Alicia gets her keen eye to detail from. Heaven help me if Grace gets it too._

"Have you had your temperature taken?" Veronica asked, taking the medicine bottle back into her hand and measuring a generous amount into the spoon in her hand.

"I don't know..." Alicia croaked, scrunching her nose up as Veronica re-capped the bottle of medicine. "This is going to taste like crap isn't it?" She asked, trying to keep her composure.

"I would say so. The things that are the best for you usually taste terrible." Peter pointed out. "There's water here for you after as well." He reassured.

"Still won't wash the taste away it'll probably linger." She almost whined. Veronica sighed heavily at her daughter's tone of voice and shot her a look that translated to one of not much tolerance. "I'm sorry, mom." She sighed, almost sounding defeated as she swallowed the dreaded liquid, her eyes squeezing shut as it slid down her throat.

"Alicia Grace Florrick you need to take this otherwise you'll feel worse. Take a deep breath, keep it down..." Veronica coached as Peter kept his hand on Alicia's shoulder. "That's it..." She reassured, her hand just below Peter's. "Good girl. See that wasn't so bad now was it?" She asked, getting up off the bed and heading towards the bathroom. When she was out of sight Peter kissed Alicia on the temple.

"Kalinda didn't call you first did she?" Alicia asked, shuffling down the bed a little so her head was back on the pillows. "Was it Zac or Grace?" She sighed, her eyes closing at the softness of the pillow under her throbbing head.

"Zac on your phone. I was going to respond but Kalinda called me first. You're gonna let me take care of you this time, Leesh." He reassured, his hand resting on her cheek. "I'm gonna make sure your mom is here too."

"No..." Alicia groaned, resting her hand over her eyes. "You know how bad she is when I'm healthy she's twice as bad when I'm sick."

"Now I know why your father never looked after me when I was unwell." Veronica re-emerged from the bathroom. "You're gonna let your husband and I look after you for once and you're not going to complain. Got me?" She asked, sitting next to Alicia and looking her right in the eyes.

"Ok..." She groaned, allowing Peter to lay her down on the mattress and cover her with the thick doona. "That actually feels pretty good." She sighed as Veronica placed the cool wash cloth over Alicia's forehead.

"Now lay back, relax and let us handle you."


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone I am SO SO sorry I haven't posted another chapter for so long but I've just had a baby so my time has been taken up with him but I promise when I have internet again and am in more of a routine I will be updating.

Take care and lots of love

HargiButtahz and Andrew (My son) xxx


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